eAlert: 18 November 2021 - A guide to planning new woodland in England
Published 18 November 2021
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2021
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ealert-18-november-2021-a-guide-to-planning-new-woodland/ealert-18-november-2021-a-guide-to-planning-new-woodland-in-england
1. A guide to planning new woodland in England
1.1 Use our newly published woodland planning guide to help you develop your new woodland.
Trees, woodlands and forests provide a range of environmental, social and economic benefits. Creating woodland now is investing in the future.
However, knowing where to start can be the hardest part of a woodland creation project. That’s why we’ve created a planning guide that will walk you through the steps of designing a new woodland and getting regulatory approval from us.
Our new guide can help you to understand:
- what you should think about before getting started
- what information you’ll need to include in your woodland creation design plan, where to find it, and how to bring it together
- how to apply the UK Forestry Standard forest design principles to guide your proposal
- how best to engage stakeholders in your project and use their responses to strengthen your woodland creation design plan
- the spatial plans you’ll need to produce as part of your woodland creation design plan (our new guide provides examples!)
- how the Environmental Impact Assessment process works
- where you can find further support and information
2. Planting for our future: White Rose Forest Action Plan 2021-2025
Seven million trees, the equivalent of 4900 football pitches or 3500 hectares, could be planted in North and West Yorkshire over the next four years as part of an Action Plan launched today by the White Rose Forest partnership.
The White Rose Forest is supported by a partnership of experts from the Forestry Commission, national park authorities, local government, charities, community groups and businesses in North and West Yorkshire. The plan is backed by increased funding for tree planting within the White Rose Forest following the launch of the Government’s Nature for Climate fund in 2020.
3. UK Forestry Standard Training Series gets underway
3.1 We’ve had a fantastic response to the first in our series of UKFS training run with the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF).
Yesterday (17 November) we were joined by over 500 delegates for the Introductory Session. The next session in on Monday 22 November focusing on Biodiversity. Those who have already booked onto the session can now take a look at the pre-recorded content available via your PheedLoop link.
If you are yet to book onto the series, it’s not too late to sign up and access all the pre-recorded content and live recordings online.
4. Phytophthora pluvialis update
4.1 Following extensive surveillance further outbreaks of Phytophthora pluvialis have been found in Devon and Cornwall.
Phytophthora pluvialis, is a fungus-like pathogen known to affect a variety of tree species, including western hemlock, Douglas fir, tanoak and several pine species. It is reported to cause needle cast (where needles turn brown and fall off), shoot dieback, and lesions on the stem, branches, and roots.
To help control any potential spread of this tree disease, a revised notice will come into effect from 19 November 2021. The demarcated area will be expanded to parts of Cornwall and Devon to prevent the accidental movement of the pathogen.
5. £27 million for foresters and farmers to boost productivity
Earlier this week Defra launched the new Farming Investment Fund. Farmers, foresters and growers from across England are urged to apply for grants to buy new equipment and infrastructure to help to improve efficiency and help us build back greener.
The fund will be split across two strands. Firstly, the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund will focus on smaller grants for equipment from a set list. The fund supports the purchase of a variety of equipment for ground preparation, woodland management and timber extraction, for example foresters could apply for tree shears, smaller self-propelled forwarders and harvesting heads. Forest nurseries can apply for horticultural items such as electronic tray filling machine and electronic row seeders.
Secondly, the Farming Transformation Fund will cover more substantial technology, with the potential to transform business performance. This strand will focus initially on water management with grants available to improve water use on farms for things like crop irrigation and constructing on-farm reservoirs.
The deadline for the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund is the 7 January 2022 at midday. Applications for the Farming Transformation Fund can be made online until the 12 January 2022, with the deadline to complete full applications by 30 June 2022.
6. Help shape our future approach to protect plants from pests and diseases
A new consultation has launched to inform the new Plant Biosecurity Strategy that will protect the nation’s plants from harmful pests and diseases.
Keen gardeners, nursery owners, farmers, landowners and environmental groups can all take part in the consultation.
The consultation sets out a new vision for plant health and potential measures to strengthen the existing biosecurity regime. The consultation closes on 30 November 2021.